Brussels (14.10.08) – A two-year EU-funded study of how consumers regard and purchase products with GM labels (in six countries) and GM-free labels (in another four) was published on Tuesday.

In ten EU Member States, surveys were undertaken and retailers consulted to see which GM-labelled- and GM-free-labelled-products were on sale in the different types of grocery stores. The researchers then asked what consumers actually did when they had the opportunity of buying GM- or GM-free products, not just what they said they would do. In six of those countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK) GM-labelled-products are currently on sale while in four (Germany, Greece Slovenia and Sweden), in which they are not, products labelled “GM-free” are widely available.

It was clear from checking data of actual purchases against answers to questions about their preferences and intentions from the very same purchasers that most shoppers did not actively avoid GM-labelled-products. Responses given by consumers when prompted by questionnaires about GM-foods were not a reliable guide to what they did when shopping in grocery stores.

In the participating countries, the study looked at the pattern of media reporting, observed the political landscape, ran focus groups of consumers in seven countries, asked retailers for information and recorded products on sale in grocery stores. Market surveys were run in eight countries to compare individuals’ purchasing intentions with their actual behaviour and sought responses to questionnaires directed to Europeans from Poland and the UK who visit North America where GM-products are widely used and not labelled. The findings showed that Europeans buy GM-foods when they are physically present on the shelves.

The study noted that, at the present time, the public debate on GM issues in Europe generally is relatively subdued, although markedly more active in some countries (e.g. in the UK in the summer of 2008 and in France earlier that year). When asked in surveys or focus group discussions about attitudes, consumers in several countries raised ethical concerns, and pointed to environmental and health risks; they were generally less aware of possible benefits than what they saw as potential hazards.

Thus, to the question “Do Europeans buy GM food?”, the answer is “yes – when offered the opportunity”. The study concluded that a major factor in governing the purchase of GM-products by Europeans is the decision of retailers to make them available to consumers.

The full report as well as individual chapters can be downloaded from http://www.kcl.ac.uk/consumerchoice

Source:

Do European consumers buy GM foods? European Commission (14.10.08)

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